Development of fabric sintering/compaction process to produce porous UHMW polyethylene composites

Implants based on solid (nonporous) Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene have serious disadvantages such as generation of fine polymer particles, because of the lack of internal natural lubricant inside the implant body. A novel family of porous multilayer composites based on Ultra High Molecular Weight (UHMW) polyethylene commercial fabrics has been developed. These composites are produced using a compaction/sintering process with a compression molding technique. The developed porous materials have much higher tensile strength than solid (nonporous) UHMW polyethylene materials.